With each year that passes, it seems that Christmas is becoming more about money and who can afford the nicest things, as opposed to the reason it was supposed to be celebrated in the first place, which is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

It started when stores began releasing their holiday decorations at an unseasonable time. In years prior, Black Friday was when stores would begin to have holiday decorations for sale and would start advertising the hottest toys on the market. Now, Christmas trees can be seen on display in stores before Halloween and kids are constantly being bombarded with ads for the latest and greatest gadget year-round, forget just once a year. 

In the jumble of trying to celebrate a holiday as important as Christmas, the reasons to celebrate and the morals surrounding it are lost in the sea of sales and materialistic things. The push for commercialization is not necessarily a bad thing, but it takes away from the magic of the holiday season. Everything is becoming about the perfect wishlist, comparing gifts with your friends, or getting the latest toys or technology, like the newest iPhone. 

The reason we are supposed to celebrate Christmas is religion, and the birth of Jesus. We as a country have lost our secularity, and focus more on Santa Claus, a figurehead made up for commercialization purposes, rather than Jesus. This adds to the commercialism because Christmas is getting treated like a trend rather than the reason it was initially celebrated.  

A few other downfalls include the commercialization of Christmas songs, which are now played well before Thanksgiving, Christmas candy, which can now be bought all year long online, and the cheaper quality of the toys children are asking for.  These factors among others have led to waning enthusiasm for both children and adults. Children are more excited to receive presents than to give them, and adults are becoming overly stressed with shopping and preparation as opposed to experiencing the joy of the holiday itself.  

The commercialization of Christmas also makes the holiday stressful for families; there is hosting to be done, gifts to be bought, and children to please. I am not saying any of the above things are bad; I am saying it is making Christmas lose its meaning, which is very upsetting for many people, especially those who value the holiday for its religious meaning. Hopefully in the future, Christmas can return more to its roots, and the holiday will start to become less about what is seen on TV and more about the true spirit people hold in their hearts.